Rising death toll may portend major Israeli military operation similar to Defensive Shield.

The First and Second Intifadas were bloody, with thousands killed.

The Second Intifada was particularly gruesome, with Palestinian suicide bombers blowing up restaurants, buses and just about every other civilian target they could reach. Israel reacted by constructing the security barrier and launching Operation Defensive Shield.

In the past couple of weeks in particular, there has been a surge in Palestinian violence with stabbings, firebombing and rock throwing. The uptick has been fed by deliberate incitement by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian authority:

Some Arab Israeli members of the Knesset also are involved in fanning the flames, like this Knesset member screaming at Jews to leave the Temple Mount:

The Joint Arab List is standing behind Jamal Zahalka, an Arab Member of Knesset (MK) who on Tuesday hurled abuse on Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, which was caught on film. Zahalka, the Balad party chairman, visited the site – Judaism’s holiest – on Tuesday in support of Muslim rioters who have stepped up their violence against Jews for the High Holiday season.

“Why are you letting them in? It’s a disgrace, only to hurt Muslims’ feelings. This is not yours, get out of here, go home, you’re not wanted,” Zahalka was seen yelling at a police officer sent to protect visitors to the Temple Mount.

Comments

Probably as an excuse to start a war – or what Arabs would call war, although it’s really almost entirely war crimes and terrorism.

A war in which Hezbollah would intervene, like they did in 2006, and almost did in 2014?

Hezbollah and Iran don’t want to start an attack from nothing. Something’s got to be going on before.

I don’t know if their timing is something that can work out right for them, though.

And I don’t know what the purpose is, either.

Is it to divide the anti-Assad coalition, by involving Israel?

Is it to get Israel and the United States and its western allies to negotiate a ceasefire, which will implicitly recognize Assad, and almost have them guarantee that he stays in possession of Damascus?

Is it just Iranian boldness and craziness, which Putin will stop provided he gets the credit for it?

Netanyahu and the generals he took with him to Moscow on Monday September 21 two days before Yom Kippur, told Putin they won’t tolerate Hezbollah being armed with certain kinds of weapons there – that is, it will bomb transfers of weapons – even if supposedly they are not going against Israel. It won’t matter if the Russian Air Force tries to protect them. They just won’t risk more.

If Hezbollah/the Syrian Army/Iranian backed Iraqi Shiite militia prepare to start operations in the southern half of Syria, Israel may intervene right there, without aiting for anything more.

Right now things are only going on in the northwest quadrant of Syria.

I think the “second front” that Putin talked about, that he claimed didn’t make sense now, is not an attack on Israek, but operations by Hezbollah further south in Syria.

The claim that Syria is tied up now may not matter too much, as they may expect to take care of the problem in northwest Syria in a few weeks, or may have enough men and arms to handle both.

All indications to me are that there seems to be some kind of attack on Israel – not with ground forces – in the works.

There wouldn’t be this “third intifadeh” if that was not the case. Abbas wouldn’t officially announce the Oslo accords are cancelled (without changing anything on the ground) if something wasn’t up.

There’s a plan to start up something with Israel – and it is not vconfined to teh West Bank, or Hamas in Gaza.

I don’t think Hezbollah will start anything overt against Israel right now. They’re stretched thin and taking losses in Syria. And Nasrullah knows that he’s got a big ‘X’ on his head if Israel has to come after them. I wouldn’t put it past Iran to use the PLO and Hamas right now to start something, but I wonder if that would be a distraction and side-show while Iran makes a move elsewhere.

Israel has another chance to rid itself of the traitors in East Jerusalem. They are not citizens. They are living a good life in Israel but their belief system inspired hatred is making them kill. Deport them. They want war; if they start it, but their war to good use and drive them all out of Jerusalem and tear down their domed abomination.